Lake St. Louis legislator: Bill will enable us to develop Missouri standards

(In his latest newsletter, Rep. Chuck Gatschenberger, R-Lake St. Louis, explains the Common Core legislation passed today by the Missouri House of Representatives.)

While the discussion on the federal Common Core education standards has generated some passionate debate among families and educators across the state, this week the Missouri House took up the subject and had a well-reasoned discussion on how to handle the standards going forward.

For those who don’t know, the Common Core standards are meant to provide a consistent means for states to evaluate student achievement in key areas such as math, reading, and writing. The standards angered some who felt the federal government was taking local control of curriculum decisions away from school districts. They also were angered that the State Board of Education decided to implement the standards without consulting the General Assembly. Supporters countered that the new standards would help ensure students receive an education that prepares them for success in college and the workforce.

Keeping all sides of the discussion in mind, we approved legislation on the floor this week that would create a committee to extensively study the Common Core standards and to develop our own Missouri-based assessment standards. Originally the bill was designed to prevent the standards from being implemented in Missouri, but as we weighed all of the factors and took into consideration that many school districts had already spent money to put the standards into place, we opted for a different approach. The end result is a bill that would give our state the flexibility to use all or parts of the Common Core standards if they prove to be effective, or to go an entirely different route with our own set of standards.

Specifically, the bill would allow Missouri school districts to proceed with testing students with the current standards, but it also would protect the districts and teachers from being penalized if students perform poorly in the assessments. This change would ensure we take a cautious approach to these standards rather than diving in headfirst. In the meantime, a work group made up of parents, elected officials, and education professionals would work to develop Missouri’s own academic performance standards to present to the State Board of Education by October of next year. By the 2016-2017 school year, the State Board of Education would be responsible for putting the new standards in place.

With this compromise we feel that have a good approach that will alleviate the worries of the many Missourians who have issues with the Common Core standards. Missouri school districts will be able to move ahead as planned for the coming school year, but we also will be on a path toward ensuring we have assessment standards written by Missouri teachers and parents who best understand the needs of Missouri students.